Controversial Celebrity Couples That Divided Fans

Everyone loves a good celebrity romance, but some famous flames send the world into a frenzy.

Whether it’s due to significant age gaps, constant drama, ostentatious PDA, cheating allegations, or fans who are aggressively protective of their favorite stars, plenty of celebrity couples have caused controversy over the years.

From the problematic romance of Elvis and Priscilla Presley, to the drama behind Harry Styles and Olivia Wilde’s on-set love story, to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s challenging the of royal machine, these controversial couples have caused quite a stir in the media for various reasons — some innocent, some damning, and others entirely inappropriate and uncomfortable.

For all the scoop on the famous couples who caused the most public debate, scrutiny, and division among fans since the 1960s, read on.

A version of this article was originally published on Sept 2022.

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Ariana Grande & Ethan Slater

Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater met on the set of the long-awaited, upcoming film Wicked, bonding a close friendship with him, his estranged wife Lilly Jay, and their newborn son. Grande and Slater’s representatives claim that their romance didn’t start until months after both of them were separated from their respective partners. However, others have claimed that some cheating may have been at play. They have divorced from their spouses and have been together for months.

Taylor Swift & Matty Healy

After Taylor Swift’s shocking split from her boyfriend of nearly six years Joe Alwyn, she seemed to have moved on quite quickly with The 1975 frontman Matty Healy. While most of Swift’s relationships cause a stir among her fans, this one may be the most controversial yet due to Healy’s problematic comments on women of color, kissing fans, and more, per Page Six.

They split after a few weeks together.

Olivia Wilde & Harry Styles

Following November 2020 news of Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudekis divorcing after nearly 10 years together, Wilde was spotted holding hands with Harry Styles, who is 10 years younger than the actress and director, in January 2021. The couple kept a pretty low profile until the media circus surrounding Wilde’s film Don’t Worry Darling, which included rumors that Wilde left Sudekis for Styles, speculation of an offensive pay gap between leading male Styles and DWD co-star Florence Pugh, and some awkward interactions at the film’s several premieres that has people wondering if Styles and Wilde were even still together. They were, but they did call it quits only a few months later.

Pamela Anderson & Tommy Lee

One of history’s most chaotic and controversial couples is Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee. The two met in 1994 and got married just six weeks later. Shortly after, their sex tape fiasco took place, followed by a domestic violence incident that put Lee in jail after Anderson pressed charges. The couple was also known for constantly breaking up and getting back together, as well as putting their tongues in each other’s mouths in public.

Megan Fox & Machine Gun Kelly

Many people compare Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly’s PDA-and-sex-fueled romance to Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee’s ostentatious relationship. Some feel their talk of being twin flames and manifesting one another from birth is more nauseating than romantic, and others feel Fox moved on to Kelly too quickly amid her split with Brian Austin Green. MGK is also just controversial in general, given his infamous feud with Eminem and his general love for blood, drugs, and chaos.

Taylor Swift & Jake Gyllenhaal

Although it’s never been confirmed by either Taylor Swift or Jake Gyllenhaal, people widely believe Swift’s album Red features several songs about her brief romance with Gyllenhaal. It’s such a popular rumor that Gyllenhaal has even publicly claimed the album is not about him, but the Swifties aren’t convinced that her scarf isn’t still at his sister Maggie’s house — IYKYK. In addition to him seemingly destroying her heart without mercy, people also side-eyed their 9-year age difference.

Angelina Jolie & Billy Bob Thornton

Billy Bob Thornton married Angelina Jolie while he was dating Laura Dern — Yeah, you read that right. The public’s distaste for Thornton and Jolie grew due to their loud displays of PDA, their eclectic habit of wearing each other’s blood in vials around their necks, and their 20-year age difference feeling a bit ick.

Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt

The world was swooning hard for Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston’s relationship in the early 2000s, so when he left Aniston for Angelina Jolie in 2005, it struck a chord with fans. Pitt and Jolie began filming Mr. & Mrs. Smith in 2003, shortly after Jolie had filed for divorce from her 2-year marriage to Thornton. With her previously coming between Thornton and Dern, and then splitting up Hollywood’s golden couple, fans didn’t look upon Jolie’s relationship with Pitt too fondly.

Tristan Thompson & Khloé Kardashian

Arguably the most controversial couple at the moment, Tristan Thompson and Khloé Kardashian’s relationship has been a confusing rollercoaster of breakups and reconciliations. Thompson has been caught cheating on Kardashian numerous times, with three confirmed affairs and a lovechild with his ex-personal trainer. And yet, Kardashian has taken him back after every incident but the latest — so far.

Scott Disick & Kourtney Kardashian

Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick dated on and off for nearly a decade, and what a decade of utter chaos it was. Between Disick cheating on Kardashian numerous times, partying way too hard for way too long instead of being a present parent, making rude comments to Kardashian like the time he called her fat after she gave birth to Penelope, bringing a side piece on a family vacation (seriously), and groveling at Kardashian’s feet every time she rightfully kicked him to the curb, it was all just… Chaos. But a huge segment of the Kardashian fanbase genuinely held out hope that the two (more Disick than Kardashian) could figure out how to make the relationship work.

Scott Disick & Sofia Richie

When Disick began dating model Sofia Richie two years after he and Kardashian Barker parted for the final time, fans were hesitant to get on board for a few reasons. In addition to a segment of the Kardashian fanbase having always held out hope for Disick and Kardashian Barker reconciling (although that now looks wholly unlikely), the age gap between Disick and Richie is 16 years, and the pair began dating when Richie was just 19 years old, which felt a bit ick.

Priscilla & Elvis Presley

Priscilla and Elvis Presley are one of the most iconic celebrity couples in history, but their relationship had more to it than just romance. The couple fell in love when Priscilla was just 14 years old — Elvis was 24 at the time, which is giving “groomer.” They married when Priscilla was 21 but ultimately divorced amicably six years later due to a strain from keeping up public appearances, dealing with Elvis’ popularity with women (he allegedly regularly cheated), and a drug habit that ultimately led to the King of Rock’s demise.

Prince Harry & Meghan Markle

While Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are more famous figures than celebrities (although Meghan was an actress prior to becoming a princess), they are undoubtedly one of the most controversial famous couples of the current times. Their history-making move away from the royal family has the world divided into those who are firmly in their corner and and those who are passionately against them — the saga of drama has its own complete timeline.

Katie Holmes & Tom Cruise

In the early 2000s, Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise were one of the most talked about celebrity couples. After Holmes talked about her childhood crush on Cruise, who is 16 years her senior, with Seventeen, the two A-listers began dating, and just a month into their relationship, Cruise was professing his love for Holmes on Oprah’s talk show — you know, the famous moment where he hopped on Oprah’s couch. Weeks later, they were engaged and Cruise was converting Holmes to Scientology, which is a whole other controversy within itself. Their relationship continued to progress very quickly with a baby and marriage, until a few years later, Holmes shocked Cruise and the world by filing for divorce.

Florence Pugh & Zach Braff

Florence Pugh and Zach Braff kept their relationship pretty quiet, but they did face significant backlash for their 21-year age difference. The two announced their split in August 2022, which Pugh seems to have credited to the weight of public opinions about their romance after years of expressing it’s no one’s business but theirs.

Justin & Hailey Beiber

Hailey Beiber stole Justin Beiber’s heart after his on-again-off-again relationship with Selena Gomez. “Jelena” fangirls were reluctant to accept the former Baldwin, holding out hope that Gomez and Beiber may find their way back to one another. In fact, Gomez actually implored her fans, via Instagram Live, to be kind to the Beibers after the release of Lose You to Love Me, which many speculate is about Gomez’s former relationship with Beiber.

Blac Chyna & Rob Kardashian

There are really too many transgressions to even summarize why Blac Chyna and Rob Kardashian were such a controversial couple. A month after dating, the two got engaged, and a few months later, they were pregnant. What followed was a messy and toxic break-up-and-make-up rollercoaster that resulted in Kardashian’s heartbreaking Christmastime Instagram Story about Chyna moving out with Dream and most of Kardashian’s belongings, Kardashian alleging Chyna was regularly cheating, abusing drugs, and neglecting their daughter while he was trying to keep their family together, and a series of internet rants and court hearings that have continued for years.

Woody Allen & Soon-Yi Previn

Woody Allen is an alleged villain of the #MeToo movement, and it’s pretty believable when you consider his current wife, Soon-Yi Previn, is his first wife’s adopted daughter. Yep. Yepyepyepyepyep. When Previn was 21 years old and Allen was 56, the two began a raunchy sexual relationship, which Mia Farrow, Allen’s then-wife and Previn’s adopted mother, found out about by finding a nude polaroid of Previn at Allen’s apartment. Previn and Allen married in 1997 and have been together since.

Heidi Montag & Spencer Pratt

Other than being an overly dramatic couple — what more could you really expect from two people who starred in The Hills — fans were outraged when Heidi Montag chose her then-boyfriend, now-husband Spencer Pratt over her bestie at the time, Lauren Conrad. It’s been 15 years, and LC fans still aren’t really over it.

Gwen Stefani & Blake Shelton

Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton began publicly dating in 2015, just months after he and Miranda Lambert finalized their divorce. Reports surfaced claiming Lambert wasn’t convinced that her ex-husband’s relationship with the No Doubt singer was as new as they were making it out to be, and that sat wrong with people, especially country music fans.

Yoko Ono & John Lennon

One of pop culture’s most widely known narratives is that Yoko Ono allegedly broke up The Beatles. A band that’s wildly famous to this day, the public was of course not thrilled that one of the most stratospheric musical groups in existence was breaking up over a woman — an especially scandalous story in the 1970s.

Demi Moore & Ashton Kutcher

Right up there with Cruise and Holmes in the early 2000s were Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher. Between the two was a 15-year age difference, and with Moore — a woman — being the older one of the couple, it was of course super controversial and highly talked about. The two married in 2005 but ultimately divorced in 2013 after Kutcher allegedly cheated in 2011.

Wilmer Valderrama & Demi Lovato

Former Disney star Demi Lovato recently released a song in which she drags her ex, Wilmer Valderrama, to absolute filth for the relationship he began with her when she was 17 years old and he was 29. While she was swept away in the romance during her youth — she was a literal teenager for several years of their relationship — 29 savagely and iconically calls out just how inappropriate she now realizes Valderrama was for pursuing her.